The Armadillo Tales

This weekend is Daylight Savings Time. That means we “spring forward” basically losing one hour of my life. I loathe daylight savings time. I was born in Hawaii and Hawaii doesn’t participate in this bi-annual ritual so I’ve never grown accustom to it. Some people enjoy it as it allows for longer days during the spring and an extra hour one day of the year. But I just can’t get used to it. My body gets thrown off by the extra hour in the fall and the loss of an hour in the spring. I’m glad that the armadillo goes to bed at a later hour. I couldn’t imagine getting him to bed at 7:00pm when the sun is still shining. I just know he wouldn’t be convinced that it was his “nene” time. Would you?

You Are Not Henry Gale from Minnesota

My lil’ lamb loves to talk. He can go on and on, telling me wonderful stories about how he feels, what he’s thinking, etc … Of course this is all in his own version of baby-speak. But if you heard him you would think he was talking. His facial expressions and his mannerisms almost convince me that he’s trying to tell me something. I love our conversations. The lil’ lamb smiles, frowns, whines, … it’s definitely something to get on video. Just last night we were talking about the “Lost” episode that we were playing. It was a previous TIVO recording and we were 2 episodes behind. Lil’ lamb and I were discussing about how the trek to find the hot air balloon was a trap. We both didn’t believe Mr. Henry Gale from Minnesota’s story. Lil’ lamb stressed that he was seriously a member of The Others. I agreed with him. Although it wasn’t a trap for Sayid, Charlie and Anna Lucia, we were right in that Mr. Gale was not who he said he was. He was not Mr. Gale. Mr. Henry Gale was buried in the grave that was near the hot air balloon crash.

In the true “Lost” fashion, the episode ended. Nice.

Thanks for Pitching In

The other day I read an article about how more and more men are pitching in to the day to day child rearing responsibilities.   This country is slowly moving away from the stereo type of mommies doing everything involving raising our children.   This reminded of how fortunate I am to have a husband that willingly helps out with the two boys.    Now don’t misinterpret this to mean that it should be any other way.   I’m just saying that the situation could be worse.    I know women whose significant others feel that they do enough going to the office 40 hours a week.   I don’t have the energy to fight those type of battles with my other half, after saying “no” and “don’t touch” all day to a toddler with the stubbornness of dried gravy on dishes from a week ago.      We share the feedings, the diaper changes, the playtime, etc … with both our boys.     Although I can’t make the armadillo laugh as hard as when B-Dad plays “paddle resuscitation” with the armadillo's tummy.     

So to those daddies that change as many or more diapers as us mommies, I applaud you.    

Photo credited to Preggers 'n Proud; tee reads "Men who change diapers rule!"

Jump on the Elmo Bandwagon

I bought two more Elmo DVD’s yesterday.  Our Elmo DVD collection must be over 10 at least.   Who knows what I would do if I didn’t have two things, a DVD player in the car and Elmo. The armadillo hated car rides with a passion. We couldn’t go 10 minutes without him fussing and screaming to get out. Well thanks to the introduction of Elmo and our new car, those dreaded car rides are a thing of the past. I can’t say enough praise of the little red monster. My son is so enthralled over Elmo’s world of discovery, education, music, and much more. I never could understand the appeal of Elmo. I always found his voice a bit grating on my ears. But now that I am a parent I am thankful for him and his friends. Elmo manages every day to keep my armadillo’s attention and even gets the armadillo to laugh a few times. Smooches to you, my red monster friend.

Are They For Real

Please tell me that these women are not true representatives of women who live in Orange County.  Have you seen "The Real Housewives of Orange County" yet?  It premiered on Bravo last week.  I still can’t get over the mother who bought her daughter a new Mercedes because the window button was broken.    Poor baby. 

My Top Ten Fave Lil' Lamb Moments for March 2006

Here is a list of my top ten favorite lil’ lamb moments:

10. His arrival into this world.

9. His first smile and coo.

8. Having him fall asleep on his mama’s shoulder whereas his mama can softly kiss and smell his soft little head. 

7. Sleeping more than 2 hours at a time

6. Staring at his mama with those lovely eyes that are highlighted by naturally curled lashes.

5. Allowing his mama to squeeze his python-like thighs.

4. Hearing those burps that could rival those produced by one Homer Simpson.

3. His open acceptance of his big brother’s sloppy kisses.

2. Giving his mama at least one hour of free time every day.

And the #1 favorite lil’ lamb moment I have gotten so far is …

1. Outgrowing his clothes so quickly that it “forces” his mama to shop for new ones!

This Trip was Too Short

The grandparents came and left.   The whole visit went by way too quickly.   They arrived Wednesday night and departed for home his morning.  It was very unfortunate that they could not stay longer.    I know the armadillo would have loved for them to stay longer.   

I was very keyed up on Wednesday night in anticipation of their arrival.    Not only did the grandparents look great, they brought a truckload of yummy snacks and gifts.   I know my appetite will be satisfied for at least a couple weeks, and that’s a huge appetite.   

The next couple of days we went to an Indian casino for some long desired gambling.   That was a bust as we didn’t win the jackpot.   But we had fun for sure.    The suite we stayed in was very eye-catching with its modern and simple designs.   The shower stall was something to be desired.  It had two shower heads with an ample amount of water pressure.  I felt like I was taking a shower under a waterfall.      There was a huge tub/Jacuzzi as well.    B-Dad gave the armadillo a bath in it and they looked as if they were swallowed by the tub.   Unfortunately cameras were banned during the bath event.   

We came back home to tackle a day and a half’s worth of shopping.    G-ma had a list of items to pick up.   Of course going to Target was also on the agenda.   Regrettably there is no Target store in Hawaii … huge bummer!

It was wonderful to see how quickly the armadillo acclimated to their presence.  B-Dad and I were able to leave both the armadillo and his little brother with the grandparents while we went gambling, etc …   It was a welcome break for sure.   

The boys are unquestionably yearning for their grandparents.  You could just tell that the armadillo couldn’t get enough of grandpa and grandpa’s comical ways.   As I’m sure the lil’ lamb enjoyed sleeping on grandma’s tummy.    It’s not just the boys that miss the grandparents, the cats do too.   The cats miss your suitcases and all of the various items G-ma bought on her shopping expeditions.   Now there’s nothing for the cats to climb on!   

We all agree … the grandparents have to come back and visit soon.    But next time let’s make sure that Karen’s is open that week!

Armadillo's Revenge

The armadillo got his settling of scores with me this afternoon.   After giving him what seemed like his millionth time out of the day, the poop hit the fan, or shall I say our clothes?   

The armadillo’s current time out spot is the laundry room.   After a couple minutes, I went in to get him.   He still had his shoes on, so I picked him up to put him on the chair.    As we were walking out of the laundry room I smelled a foul odor.   “Did you poop again?” I asked the armadillo.   He had just went #2 a half an hour ago, and I was surprised that he went again.   I put him down on the chair and took off his shoes.   I picked him up again to put him down.   Both times he was holding onto my arms with his hands.    While he was standing I checked his diaper.  It was then that I noticed the horror, his diaper was half way down his behind and there was poop smeared on his backside.   Yuck!   I then checked his hands and sure enough, double yuck!   I ran to the sink and got a couple of paper towels, soaked them with water and anti-bacterial soap.   I wiped off his hands and then threw away the napkins.  It didn’t even cross my mind to check my shirt right away.  I picked up the armadillo again and took him to change his diaper.   I stripped him of his clothes and put on a clean set.  When I finally did remember to check my own shirt, I found the disgusting tell-tale marks.     Oh damn!   In the washer with all of you!   I'm praying that was a one-time thing.   

Of course the armadillo thought the whole thing was hilarious.   Of course.   

Table for Mommies and the Little Ones

Today was a first and definitely not the last.   I went to lunch in a restaurant with the armadillo and lil’ lamb WITHOUT B-Dad.    I didn’t go by myself but with a few fabulous moms from my moms’ group.   I have to admit I was a little nervous.   Lately the armadillo hasn’t been doing well with eating in restaurants but today he was as good as good can get.    I’m thinking it was mostly due to the fact that there were 3 other toddlers his age and that kept him occupied.  I figure he gets bored quickly if it was just me and B-Dad.   Who wants to play with their parents out in public when he could just as well do that at home?    The lil’ lamb slept the whole time and that helped a lot.   I suppose it could have been a lot worse if he was awake and fussy.    I did manage to feed and burp him without incident.     Whew.   The armadillo was kept busy watching and interacting with the other little ones, so thankfully he didn’t fuss while I was tending to his little brother.    I also was able to eat my lunch as well.   The armadillo had a chicken & cheese quesadilla w/French fries.   We split the sides with his buddy J and she had fruit, so they had the best of both worlds.   All in all I can say that we had a fan-tabulous time.   The children were well behaved, the mommies got to eat their lunches, and the mommies also got in some adult conversation.   

This was truly a dream come true that I hope we can do again and again and again …

Modern Potty

The armadillo is not ready for potty training yet.    Or maybe it’s that I’m not ready.   But either way I hope when the time comes we’ll have access to this mod looking potty device by Boon.   First saw this item at the fabulous website Babygadget. This training potty bench is an all-in-one product.  It has two enclosed storage spaces for toilet paper, wipes, etc …    There is a pull out drawer for easy (or so they say) clean up.   You can also use the potty device as a stool or a bench.     What I like best is that you can convert this into something other than a potty.   That way people won’t have to stare uncomfortably at the mini toilet on the floor, wondering if it has been cleaned recently.      This product will be available on April 15^th at my favorite store Target.

Photo via Babygadget.